Embodied AI: The Next Wave of Artificial Intelligence and the Metaverse

Women seems to pass a screen with a humanoid being
Who is the AI-agent and who the human? Image created on Playground AI

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang delivered an inspiring video message at the recent ITF World conference in Antwerp, Belgium. He explained that the first wave of AI focused on learning perception, while the second wave revolves around understanding and generating information. According to Huang, this new wave is revolutionary due to its ease of use and incredible capabilities. More than a thousand startups are currently inventing new applications for generative AI.

Huang envisions the next wave of AI as embodied AI, referring to intelligent systems that can understand, reason about, and interact with the physical world. He provided examples such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and even chatbots that are smarter because they possess an understanding of the physical world.

Avatars

This concept led me to contemplate avatars. In Sanskrit, the term “avatar” literally means “descent.” According to Wikipedia, it signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess, or spirit on Earth. In a virtual environment, an avatar represents a human being. However, artificial intelligence can also manifest as a digital avatar in a virtual world or as a physical avatar in the real world. As an embodied AI, it can learn by interacting in the physical world and acquire new meaning for us. Rather than being a relatively limited and specialized robot, it would possess a more generalized intelligence. We catch glimpses of this potential when we interact with our new generative AI helpers.

When discussing the “physical world” in this context, we are actually referring to a physical world enhanced with digital objects. It will be a mixed reality world where digital objects interact with physical ones, and we can manipulate them. These digital objects can persist alongside physical structures, existing not only when we look at them or use a specific device.

Holograms

On the other hand, avatars of fellow human beings in virtual worlds will not necessarily be cartoonish. They could very well resemble highly realistic holograms in virtual environments, either fully immersing us or allowing us to maintain a connection with our physical surroundings. From these virtual worlds, we will be able to interact with and manipulate the “physical” reality, potentially with the assistance of embodied avatars powered by artificial intelligence.

In summary, the concept of the metaverse expands to such an extent that it merges with “reality” itself, erasing the boundaries between the virtual and the physical, fully intertwining them. As we reach this point, the term “metaverse” will no longer be used; it will merely serve as a representation of how humans once perceived these ideas.

Navigating the Avalanche: User-Generated Content and the Future of Virtual Worlds

Media confusion, image created by Bing Image Creator

User-generated content is a significant trend in virtual worlds and its importance only appears to be increasing. In a recent development, Epic Games has offered its Unreal Editor for Fortnite to Fortnite creators. Users of Unreal Engine, the famous game engine developed by Epic Games, will find many familiar tools and workflows as well as some key differences and limitations not present in Unreal Engine, as explained in Epic’s blog post. Epic Games is also creating a marketplace and an economic model for its creators, with the intention of maintaining an open ecosystem where creators can sell their products elsewhere.

This move helps broaden Fortnite’s appeal not just for individual creators and small studios, but also for major brands seeking to launch their own unique experiences. Potential connections can be made with major trends such as web3 and generative AI. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) facilitate ownership, while generative AI simplifies the use of creative tools in virtual environments, making the process more efficient. The practice of equipping creators with sophisticated tools is evolving quickly and is expected to see significant advancements in the coming years.

The medium of virtual worlds has evolved beyond a one-way channel serving prepackaged experiences. Instead, it is now an interactive platform that allows users to become co-creators. However, examining user-generated worlds such as Roblox, Fortnite Creative, Rec Room, and Second Life, it appears that only a minority of people are currently creating new content. This minority is set to grow exponentially as content creation becomes more straightforward. People have a natural inclination towards creation, as demonstrated by platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, to name a few. However, the process needs to be accessible (i.e., not requiring professional coding skills) and enjoyable. Generative AI and improved interfaces will simplify the setup of 3D environments.

Curation

For content consumers, the challenge will be discovering intriguing material amid the avalanche of digital creations. Interesting content and niche communities will be dispersed across numerous platforms. Major brands and social media influencers will have an edge, but what about content that might be fascinating yet lacks the push from significant social media accounts? Internet users often belong to subcultures and specialized communities, but even there, curation is becoming more difficult. AI might offer a solution, but will we understand how these recommendation engines work and be able to adjust them accordingly?

Content producers may struggle to get noticed. For the majority, reaching a mass audience will be unattainable. However, it may be sufficient to find a smaller group of intensely engaged followers. Perhaps web3 can assist in finding a business model that utilises NFTs for token gating, reserving content for those who hold a particular NFT or a collection of NFTs.

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